Appeal a tender award
The justification came, you weren't selected, and something doesn't add up. Here is how to read the award notice correctly, assess whether you have grounds for a complaint to the buyer or to KOFA, and act within the 10-day deadline.
The challenge
10-day deadline — and five days gone before you've made up your mind
The standstill period is 10 days from award notice to contract signing. Inside that window you have to read the justification, compare against your own bid, assess the grounds and decide whether to appeal. In practice, half the time is gone before you've gathered what you need.
standstill after award
The deadline to request a temporary injunction or file a complaint before the contract is signed is tight. Once the contract is signed, the chances of reversing it are far lower.
are often vague or thin
Many award notices give little concrete information about why you lost. The first step is often to request a more detailed justification — which resets the clock.
when the grounds are solid
Complaints that get assessed have a relatively high hit rate — because serious complaints actually have legal grounds, not just dissatisfaction.
Here is how to do it
Structured complaint assessment — within the deadline
A complaint should not be based on emotion. It should be based on an actual assessment of whether the buyer has acted in breach of the procurement regulations. Tenderen walks you through the assessment, fast and documented.
Request a detailed justification immediately
Send the request the same day you receive the award notice. Every day you wait is a day lost from the standstill period. Tenderen has the template ready.
Compare bids point by point
Tenderen runs your bid against the award criteria and the scoring in the justification — and flags unexplained discrepancies in the points awarded.
Identify concrete breaches
Conflicts of interest, predetermined outcomes, illegal reservations accepted from the winner, errors in the scoring model — Tenderen maps which points are grounds for complaint, and which are not.
Build the complaint with the right legal basis
Procurement regulation § 25, the Public Procurement Act, KOFA panel decisions — Tenderen builds the complaint with concrete legal basis and precedent, not just frustration.
How it works
Three steps from award notice to submitted complaint
Upload the award notice
Tenderen reads the justification, extracts the scoring and compares it against your own bid — in minutes, not hours. You see exactly where the objective discrepancies sit.
Assess the grounds for complaint
Tenderen shows concrete points that may constitute a breach of the procurement regulations, with legal basis in law and regulation, linked to relevant KOFA practice.
File the complaint — or don't
Tenderen generates a complaint draft with legal grounds and evidence. Or — just as important — shows there are no grounds, so you don't spend time and money on a complaint that won't succeed.
Complain when you have a case — let it go otherwise
Bid managers use Tenderen to assess grounds for complaint within the standstill period — and prioritize the complaints that actually have a chance of succeeding.
Standstill period
Practice referenced
Procurement regulations, Act, KOFA practice
Assessment ready after the award notice
Don't talk yourself out of a complaint you should have filed.
Upload the award notice and the bid, and get a structured complaint assessment before the standstill period runs out.